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Medium-sized to very large diurnal birds of prey, with bare head, powerful hooked bill and large wing area for efficient soaring flight; feed mostly on carrion.

North, Central and South America.

Wide variety of habitats, from highest mountains to lowland forests and deserts.

56-134 cm.

5 genera, 7 species, 13 taxa.

1 species threatened;

none extinct since 1600.

Systematics

The seven species of New World vultures are extremely similar in superficial appearance to the fifteen species of Old World vultures found in Africa, Asia and Europe. If seen in a mixed species group in a zoo...

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Cathartid vultures share the general bill shape of other meat-eating birds, with a hooked tip and cutting edges. The larger species can exert considerable force when feeding, usually holding the food down with...

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One of the remarkable aspects of the cathartid vultures is the extreme range of habitats that they occupy. In this respect they are more successful than the Old World vultures, which are not found in any kind of forest or closed woodland habitat.

The Andean Condor occurs amongst the...

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Every aspect of the ecology and behaviour of vultures is aimed at saving energy. This is the whole secret of their success. Finding cheap ways to travel, minimizing energy expenditure at all times, avoiding...

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A strange feature of the cathartid vultures is that they totally lack the syrinx and associated muscles, which form the main mechanism for sound production in other birds. As a result this whole group of birds are almost silent, and they completely lack the ability to produce any normal bird...

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All species in this family are predominantly scavengers, in that they obtain food by finding dead animals, rather than killing prey for themselves. Some obtain virtually all their food this way, refusing to...

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Surprisingly little is known about breeding in most of the cathartid vultures. For the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture no nest-site has ever been found, while only one is known of the Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture, and few of the King Vulture.

One of the curious features of the birds is...

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The Turkey Vulture is the only species which is truly migratory, and this only applies to some of its races. Both of the North American subspecies travel south in winter, sometimes congregating in roosts of...

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Vultures are large, spectacular birds, associated with death and cleaning of the body. It is perhaps inevitable that from early times human cultures have recognized vultures as important symbols of burial rituals and the release of the human spirit (see page 91).

Condors regularly...

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Scavenging birds are particularly sensitive to human activity, but a curious aspect of this relationship is that, while some species have been brought to the brink of extinction, others have benefited to a spectacular extent....

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Species list

List of species of the New World Vultures (Cathartidae) family. Each species provides information on taxonomy, descriptive notes, voice, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation and bibliography.

A detailed list of the species of the family is displayed to our subscribers, showing the following columns: Genus, Species, Common name, Conservation Status, Figure, and the Check mark. Above the table, a tiny search engine is displayed to facilitate the filtering of the species.

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